TSP 2014 ATM Entries

Here are some of the 2014 TSP Amateur Telescope-making entries!

Bob has come up with an ingenious design that allows him to both change the primary to secondary distance, and to re-balance the tube assembly on its mount. This is achieved by sliding two sections of the telescope along 4 fixed aluminum truss tubes. One example of the usefulness of this would be to increase the back focal length to accommodate a camera.

Robert Kieras – 10″ “Focal Balance” Newtonian

Robert Kieras – 10″ “Focal Balance” Newtonian

Timothy Cowden – Bryan, TX – 6″ f/10 Refractor & Mount

Award for cost effective re-use of materials

Tim took recycling to the limit with his telescope, mount and tripod build. Just about every piece of metal, wood or cardboard had seen a previous life, and in the case of washing machine rotor, appearing as a declination shaft in this telescope mount was now its third useful reincarnation! Tim had even cut the RA gear from plywood.

Timothy Cowden – 6″ f/10 Refractor & Mount

Timothy Cowden – 6″ f/10 Refractor & Mount

Timothy Cowden – 6″ f/10 Refractor & Mount

Ron Price (Tucson, AZ) – 24″ f/3.65 Newtonian & Alt-azimuth Mount

Award for Craftsmanship

Ron designs telescope for a living, but this is his first self-build. The finished instrument is of professional quality in both build and operation. A key feature that Ron incorporated is custom slip clutches, allowing him to simply push the telescope to an object, just let go, and the scope tracks perfectly.

Ron Price – 24″ f/3.65 Newtonian & Alt-azimuth Mount

Ron Price – 24″ f/3.65 Newtonian & Alt-azimuth Mount

Ron Price – 24″ f/3.65 Newtonian & Alt-azimuth Mount

Joe Mungo (Coppell, TX) – 16″ f/4.5 Ultralight Alt-azimuth Newtonian Overall Winner & Award for creative Design & BuildJoe wanted a scope that didn’t need steps to reach the eyepiece. He has clearly achieved that and along the way devised and incorporated a large number of unusual features. His elimination of a rocker box gave a big reduction in height and weight while providing a very stiff and stable mount. Similarly his bold use of taut wires to hold the secondary has paid off too and works very well in practice. As well as a great design, Joe has made a very good job in building and finishing the telescope.